When you imagine a public library, you probably think of a building with aisles of books. Patrick Crowley had a different idea. He wanted to bring books to readers, not the other way around. And his library isn’t a building. It’s called Street Books ATX.
“The street library is a cargo bicycle that has a pullout drawer in it that basically contains paperback books,” Crowley says.
Crowley brings his street library to Trinity Center in Austin each Thursday, loaning out books and taking in returns. Trinity, run by St. David’s Episcopal Church, provides services to people experiencing homelessness.
“It’s an honor system, so we just trust people to give books back, and if they can’t, hopefully give them to somebody else,” Crowley says.
Crowley says he got the idea for the library from a similar program in Portland.
“It’s just basically building a sense of community with people that otherwise are kind of considered outsiders, or outcasts, or whatever you want to call it,” he says.